how many of us are homeless, starving, crapping outside? way too many have fallen thru cracks and crevices, usually of thier own making. If someone is trying their best, but is incapable of earning enough, we help them. we always have, for the most part. but too many are gaming the system. I know people worth half a million and getting a decent retirement who go stand in line for free commodities. They got there in a new Toyota Avalon.....
there has to be accountability for those who are able to support themselves.
Yes, today's recession is a new thing for most of us, but the sane among us are barely affected by it. One of the houses on my block was almost paid for, then they got a huge home equity loan, bought 2 brand new vehicles, and started a business. Then the market fell, the business failed, and they walked away from the house leaving it to the bank to deal with. The bankers SHOULD have been smarter, but they weren't.
The taxpayers will be paying for this kind of stuff for a very long time.
I posted this for you a couple pages back:
Originally Posted by Catawba
"
Poverty in the United States
The official poverty measure is published by the United States Census Bureau and shows that:
In 2010, 46.9 million people were in poverty, up from 37.3 million in 2007 -- the fourth consecutive annual increase in the number of people in poverty . This is the largest number in the 52 years for which poverty rates have been published (DeNavas-Walt 2011, p. 14).
The 2010 poverty rate was 15.1 percent, up from 12.5 percent in 1997. This is the highest poverty rate since 1993, but 7.3 percentage points lower than the poverty rate in 1959, the first year for poverty estimates. (DeNavas-Walt 2011, p. 14).
The 2010 poverty rate for Hispanics was 26.6 percent, for Blacks 27.4 percent.
In 2010, the poverty rate increased for children under age 18 from 20.7 percent to 22.0 percent. (DeNavas-Walt 2010 p. 14).
20.5 million Americans live in extreme poverty. This means their family’s cash income is less than half of the poverty line, or about $10,000 a year for a family of four (DeNavas-Walt 2011, p. 19).
49.9 million people or 16.3 percent of the American people, do not have medical insurance (DeNavas-Walt 2011, p. 23).
"Minimum wage The United States enacts a minimum wage (as do some individual states) that tries to establish a floor for what can be paid as a wage by firms. The current minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. In 2008, the official U.S. poverty level for a family of 4 was $21,834 ( Census Bureau "Poverty Thresholds"). With a 40 hour week, a family of 4 with one minimum wage earner would earn $15,080, only 69 percent of the poverty level. The minimum wage level is not indexed to inflation, which means that the real benefits will be eroded by inflation."
"One way the EITC reduces poverty is by supplementing the earnings of minimum-wage workers. At the minimum wage’s current level, such a family can move out of poverty only if it receives the EITC as well as food stamps (CBPP EITC.)"
"Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) In 1996, TANF replaced the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program, which had been in existence since 1935. The TANF program provides block grants to states to provide assistance to needy families. States have discretion on how to use the funds."
"Lack of available child care can well keep single mothers from working as required"
Hunger in America: 2011 United States Hunger and Poverty Facts
